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by Kevin Pauley
Your unfailing love is better to me than life itself; how I praise you! Psalm 63:3
A person who recognizes God’s unfailing love in his life is on his way to wisdom. He will discover that peace comes from knowing that God has his best interest at heart. He will find joy because he is now at liberty to pursue the interests that develop from his natural gifts and talents. He will be patient in that pursuit because he understands that he is immortal and has all eternity to develop his skills. He is kind to his fellow man because he can afford to be. Their petty slights are meaningless to an immortal. As a result of his kindness, he is generally better loved by others.
All these traits come from discovering that God’s love is truly unfailing. But how can one go about discovering this eternal fount? How can you know intellectually – experientially - that God loves you? Take a look at the cross.
God’s love was so deep and unimaginable that even before you were born, before the foundations of the universe were laid, He set a plan in motion that would offer reconciliation for sins you had not yet committed. He loved you so much that when He knew that your sin would separate you from Him, He preferred death to that separation. He took on the form of a man (in itself a type of death for an infinite God), was born in a backwater province of the Roman Empire, withstood all the onslaughts of Satan, refused to give in to the temptations of his human flesh, and died a horrible death which by all rights should have been yours.
God’s gifts may be delayed by His love. That’s right, by His love. He may want to give you all things immediately, yet His love will only allow Him to give them to you at the perfect time. He will not spoil you, but He also will not bring undue hardships to you.
When life throws you curves and you are tempted to ask God “why?”, ask yourself “why not?” Why not you? Would you prefer that hardship be given to someone else? Who then? To whom would you give this suffering? Christianity should breed heroes. We do not fear the consequences of death so we face it gladly. Because we are assured of our place in heaven, we should be willing to lay down our lives for someone else whose fate is not so assured. We should be willing to imitate our Master who took on all the sins, burdens and grief of the whole world and bore it in the world’s stead. What have you done to deserve an easy life? With all the things He has done for you, could you not take a few hardships for him? Trust Him. Trust His love.
Kevin Pauley is a pastor and writer. He lives in Illinois with his wife, Lynn, their five children and two dogs. His internet address is Berea.
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